The present invention relates to a recording medium urging pad disposed in a tape cassette or the like for urging a recording medium such as a magnetic tape or magnetic disk against a fixed-type magnetic head.
Magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus having a fixed-type magnetic head use a magnetic tape housed in a tape cassette as a recording medium and include a head pad disposed within a tape cassette for satisfactorily urging a magnetic tape housed within a tape cassette against the magnetic head. The magnetic tape is urged against the magnetic head by this head pad.
As head pads for tape cassette, there are known head pads in which a felt material is attached to a plate-like resilient material. Specifically, a felt pad formed of a rabbit fur, wool and synthetic fiber is attached to a spring phosphor bronze plate or the like.
The thus arranged head pad is disposed within a tape cassette at the position inside a magnetic tape transport portion in an opposing relation to an opening portion into which a magnetic head is inserted. When the magnetic head is inserted into the tape cassette from the opening portion under the condition that the tape cassette is loaded onto a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, the magnetic head and the head pad respectively, engage the magnetic tape on the recording surface side and the back surface, whereby the magnetic tape is urged against the magnetic head by a resilient force of the head pad.
However, if the magnetic tape is transported by the magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus many times, then when a tape base surface is rough, tape cassette resin fixed pins in contact with a tape base surface are worn out so that a relative position between a magnetic tape running surface and the magnetic head becomes abnormal. Therefore, if the head pad felt has a high elasticity modulus, then a contact of the magnetic tape with the magnetic head becomes imperfect, thereby lowering a power of a recording signal or increasing a phase fluctuation.
It is proposed that a head pad 21 is formed by attaching a felt pad 23 made of fiber with low elasticity modulus on a leaf spring 22 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, when the magnetic tape T is transported, the felt pad 23 is subject to lateral creep due to stress (FIG. 2). The felt pad 23 is subject to creep due to stress associated with the low elasticity modulus of the felt pad 23 which hinders a compatibility between the tape cassette and the magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, thereby exerting a bad influence on the output signal.